Tag: Kirk Baxter ACE

Cut/Daily Meets… Editor Kirk Baxter, ACE

How he cut A House of Dynamite for Kathryn Bigelow and what it’s like to work with a new Director.

Jonny Elwyn
February 3, 2026
Cut/Daily

A conversation about Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite” (and David Fincher’s “The Adventures of Cliff Booth”).

Kirk Baxter, ACE, has cut for David Fincher since The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), picking up two Oscars (The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and a nomination () along the way. He’s also maintained a successful and sought-after commercials editing business the whole time.

Interestingly enough, it was editing her commercial that connected him to Kathryn Bigelow, director of his latest film, A House of Dynamite.

In this special issue of Cut/Daily Meets… you get to hear from the man himself, as I was fortunate enough to chat with him in person, in the middle of his work day on The Adventures of Cliff Booth, Fincher directing Tarantino’s script as a sequel/spin-off/connection to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Listen to the full conversation when you subscribe for free, plus you’ll get a free issue of Cut/Daily in your inbox every Friday.

Highlights from Kirk’s interview:

Introduction
Kirk’s Location & Current Projects
The Film’s Ending & Political Message
What Did the Dailies Look Like?
Split Screens vs. Found Footage Approach
Editing the Missile Countdown Scenes
The Three Acts & Secretary Baker’s Face
Matching Audio Across Different Chapters
Working with Score & Kathryn’s Initial Reaction
The Composer Process & Volker Bertelmann
How Do You Decide When Music Comes In?
Creating the Chapter Title Cards
What Was It Like Working with Kathryn Bigelow?
How Do You Choose Your Projects?
Cutting Commercials Between Films
Evolution as an Editor & Avoiding Showiness
Do Oscar Wins Change Imposter Syndrome?
Editing Animation for Love, Death & Robots
The IMDb Holiday Reunion Credit
Future Projects & David Fincher’s Next Film

If you like deepening your knowledge about Post-Production, you’ll love Cut/Daily, my free weekly newsletter for Post Pros. Sign up for free at cut-daily.com.

Follow me on: Ex-Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

MINDHUNTER Composer Jason Hill

Darek Thomas
May 20, 2024
Monday Morning Critic

Jason Hill is a multi-talented artist who has made a name for himself as an award-winning film composer, platinum-selling recording artist, record producer, and mixer.

Hill’s upcoming projects include; Apple TV+‘s drama series Dark Matter, which premieres May 8th; and season 4 of Showtime’s Couples Therapy, which premieres May 31st. Hill is also a music producer on the forthcoming Robbie Williams’ biopic, Better Man.

Notable film and television credits include David Fincher‘s psychological thriller film, Gone Girl; the Emmy-winning series, Mindhunter; Voir; Videosyncrasy; and his only animated short film, Bad Travelling (part of the Emmy-winning series Love, Death, and Robots); Elijah Bynum’s drama film, Magazine Dreams; Apple TV+’s Extrapolations; and City On Fire; Netflix’s Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened; The Confession Killer; and This Is A Robbery; and Philip O’Leary‘s film, The Buffalo Hunt.

In addition to his work in film/television scoring and production, Hill is also the lead singer, guitarist, and producer for the band LOUIS XIV along with the band Vicky Cryer (which contained members of bands The Killers, Muse, Julian Casablancas and the Voidz, Jet, and Jamiroquai). In 2011, he also joined The New York Dolls and played bass on several tours after producing the album Dancing Backward in High Heels, their final Dolls album. He has produced, written records or otherwise worked with such artists as The Killers, David Bowie, Robbie Williams, Jet, Sky Ferreira, Brandon Flowers, Ariel Pink, The Virgins, Macy Gray, Neon Trees, The Bronx, Nick Littlemore/Luke Steele (Empire of the Sun, Pnau), IDKHBTFM (I Don’t Know How But They Found Me), and more. Hill was also part of the seminal alt-country band, Convoy in his early years.

In 2015 Hill bought a building in Glendale that was originally built as a music studio in the mid-1970s and reimagined it into one of the world’s premier modern recording facilities, Department of Recording and Power. This iconic complex was once the birthplace of massive hits from The Beach Boys, James Brown, Barbra Streisand, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Joni Mitchell, Joe Cocker, and many more, and is now reborn for the next generation of influential artists.

Listen to the podcast:

Apple Podcasts

The Killer: Storytelling Through Sound

February 2, 2024
Failure On Command

David Fincher’s The Killer is a masterclass in filmmaking, particularly through its sound design, which does much to distinguish itself from modern mainstream movies. In this video essay, I discuss how The Killer’s sound design aids in its storytelling, allowing it to communicate information in a unique, gripping manner. I’ll also briefly touch on what makes this movie so competent and effective on a technical level.

The Killer, Ferrari Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt on Reuniting with Fincher and Shooting for Michael Mann

Edward Douglas
January 9, 2024
Below the Line

The last few years have been a whirlwind for Erik Messerschmidt, ASC. He had been working his way through the camera department for nearly two decades, including as a gaffer on David Fincher’s Gone Girl, before he began acting as DoP on a number of high-profile shows, one of them being Fincher’s Mindhunter for Netflix.

When Fincher decided to make Mank, his biopic about Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, as played by Gary Oldman, he brought Messersschmidt along with him to shoot the film in black and white. The movie was slightly hobbled by the pandemic that kept it from playing theatrically, but Messerschmidt won the Oscar for Cinematography, as well as the feature film category for the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).

Last year, Messerschmidt reunited with Fincher for his adaptation of the graphic novel, The Killer, starring Michael Fassbender as an assassin on a streak of vengeance after a job goes wrong. He also teamed up with the great Michael Mann to shoot his racing biopic, Ferrari, starring Adam Driver.

Below the Line spoke with the cinematographer a few months back when he was in Poland for EnergaCAMERIMAGE, although we got on Zoom with him from the States.

Read the full interview

In Conversation: David Fincher and The Crew of “The Killer” in New York

Tomris Laffly
October 28, 2023

David Fincher discusses the making of The Killer with Sound Designer Ren Klyce, Editor Kirk Baxter, and Writer Andrew Kevin Walker, after the screening for the press in New York. Hosted by Tomris Laffly.

(Video clips recorded with a phone from the audience, with not very good audio and, for some reason, with each video clip edited in twice).

In Conversation: David Fincher and Michael Fassbender with Rian Johnson on “The Killer” at the Academy Museum

Rian Johnson
November 15, 2023
Netflix: Behind the Streams

Director David Fincher and actor Michael Fassbender discuss making The Killer with moderator Rian Johnson at The Academy Museum in Los Angeles.

Watch The Killer on Netflix

In Conversation: David Fincher and The Crew of “The Killer” in New York

October 27, 2023
Netflix: Behind the Streams

David Fincher discusses the making of The Killer with Writer Andrew Kevin Walker, Editor Kirk Baxter, and Sound Designer Ren Klyce, after the “Tastemaker” screening for The Academy at the Whitby Hotel in New York.

Watch The Killer on Netflix

In Conversation: David Fincher and The Crew of “The Killer” at the Academy Museum

Elvis Mitchell
October 24, 2023
Netflix: Behind the Streams

Director David Fincher, Editor Kirk Baxter, Writer Andrew Kevin Walker, Sound Designer Ren Klyce, and Director of Photography Erik Messerschmidt, discuss their film The Killer with moderator Elvis Mitchell at The Academy Museum in Los Angeles.

Watch the conversation with subtitles in French, Spanish, and Italian.

Watch The Killer on Netflix

David Fincher and Sound Designer Ren Klyce at The Egyptian Theater: “The Killer” Screening and Q&A

Froilan Fuentes

Jim Hemphill
November 9, 2023
West Coast POPCast (YouTube)

The Egyptian Theatre re-opened in Hollywood with a special screening of The Killer, followed by a Q&A with Director David Fincher and Sound Designer Ren Klyce hosted by Jim Hemphill.

Mix Presents Sound For Film: The Sound of “The Killer”

Awards Season 2023

Jennifer Walden
December 13, 2023
Mix

Join Mix’s Jennifer Walden as she speaks with the audio pros behind director David Fincher’s action thriller, ‘The Killer.’ Discussing their work on the film are:

  • Ren Klyce, Sound Designer, Re-recording Mixer, and Supervising Sound Editor
  • Jeremy Molod, Supervising Sound Editor
  • Stephen Urata, Re-recording Mixer
  • Drew Kunin, Production Sound Mixer

Presented by Netflix.